Protests cause rush-hour gridlock

Traffic leaving Belfast has been disrupted by protesters

A series of loyalist roadblocks which disrupted rush-hour traffic across Belfast for a third consecutive evening have now ended.

Streets were blocked at Shankill Road, Crumlin Road, Donegall Road, Ballygomartin Road and Seymour Hill.

The Westlink and Broadway Roundabout, Twaddell Avenue, Boucher Road and Blacks Road were also blocked.

Evening bus services from Shankill to Ligoniel and Carlisle Circus to Carrs Glenn were withdrawn by Translink.

The company said its other services were expected to operate as normal on most routes following the disturbances which have affected Belfast and other areas.

It said all passengers wishing to use these services should contact the call centre on 028 90666630 or consult its website before they travel.

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Northern Ireland conflict

Meanwhile in north Belfast, a child was injured after the window of a school bus was broken.

Translink and the police are investigating the incident, which happened on Crumlin Road on Wednesday afternoon.

It is believed the girl, a pupil at Castle High School, was injured when the rear window of the vehicle was broken. It is not known if she was seriously hurt.

During violence at the weekend, three buses costing about £500,000 were destroyed by rioters and Translink cancelled some evening services.

Smaller scale

There were a number of attacks on the police on Tuesday, but not on the scale of the previous three nights.

The trouble, mainly in loyalist areas, was sparked by the re-routing of an Orange Order parade on Saturday.

On Tuesday night, a police officer was slightly burned when a petrol bomb was thrown at a Land Rover on Longstone Street in Lisburn, County Antrim.

Petrol bombs and two blast bombs were also thrown at New Barnsley police station in west Belfast.

A petrol bomb was also thrown at Mountpottinger police station in east Belfast.

On Tuesday, the outlawed loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association (UDA) said the violence should stop.

Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has blamed the UDA and UVF for being behind the trouble.

During violence in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland on Monday, 10 police officers were injured.

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Sixty people have been arrested for public order offences and three in connection with serious terrorist offences. Police said that more arrests would be made.

Unionists said there had been a build-up of resentment within their community because of the government's handling of the peace process.

Trouble began in the city on Saturday after the Parades Commission refused to change their decision not to allow the Orange Order's Whiterock parade to pass through a nationalist section of Springfield Road.